In Silence. Erica Spindler

recognize stood on the other side of the patio, smoking. She scolded herself for the spear of irritation she felt. It was she who was intruding. Not he.

      He met her eyes. “Sorry about your dad, Ms. Chauvin. He was a fine man.”

      “Thank you,” she said, fighting past the emotion that rose in her throat and crossing to him. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

      He looked embarrassed. “We’ve never met.” He extinguished the cigarette and held out a hand. “John Price. Cypress Springs Volunteer Fire Department.”

      She shook his hand. “Good to meet you.”

      He looked away, then back, expression pure misery. “I was on call that morning. I was the first to … see your dad.”

       He had seen her father.

       He had been the first.

      A half-dozen questions popped into her head. She uttered the first to her tongue. “What did you do then?”

      He looked surprised. “Pardon?”

      “After you found him, what happened next?”

      “Called my captain. He called the state fire marshal. They sent the arson investigator assigned to our region. He’s a good guy. Name’s Ben Mitchell.”

      “And he called the coroner.”

      “Yup.” He nodded. “Parish coroner. Coroner called Buddy.”

      “That’s how it works?”

      He shuffled slightly. “Yeah. Our job’s elimination and containment of the fire itself, as well as search and rescue. Once our job’s done, we call the state fire marshal. He determines how the fire started.”

      “And calls the coroner?”

      “Yes. If there are victims. He calls the PD. Chain of command.”

      She felt herself emotionally disengaging, slipping into the role of journalist. It was an automatic thing, like breathing. She found it comforting. “And my father was dead when you got there?”

      “No doubt about that. He—” The man bit back what he was about to say.

      “What?”

      “He was dead, Ms. Chauvin. Absolutely.”

      She shut her eyes, working to recall what she knew of death by burning. The arson piece she’d done. Those two little victims; she had seen a picture. Charred cadavers. Entirely black. Generic fea—

      “Avery? Are you okay?”

      At Matt’s voice, she opened her eyes. He stood in the doorway, Cherry hovering just behind him.

      “Fine.” As she said the word, she realized she felt a hundred percent better than when she’d stepped outside.

      “People are looking for you.”

      She nodded and turned back to the fireman. “John, I’d like to talk to you more about this. Could I give you a call, set up something?”

      He shifted his gaze, obviously uncomfortable. “Sure, but I don’t know what I could tell you that would—”

      “Just for me,” she said quickly. “For closure.”

      “I guess. You can reach me through the dispatcher.”

      She thanked him, turned and crossed to where Matt and Cherry waited.

      “Ms. Chauvin?” She stopped and glanced back at the fireman. “You might want to call Ben Mitchell, at the state fire marshal’s office in Baton Rouge. He could tell you a lot more than I can.”

      “Thanks, John. I’ll do that.”

      “What was that all about?” Cherry asked.

      “Nothing. I needed some air.”

      Cherry frowned slightly and glanced over her shoulder, obviously annoyed with her answer. “Jill Landry married him. You remember Jill? Met him through her sister, in Jackson.”

      “He seems like a nice guy.”

      “I guess.”

      Avery stopped and looked at the other woman. “Are you trying to tell me something, Cherry?”

      “No. I just thought you should know … he’s not from around here, Avery.”

      “He found Dad,” she said sharply. “I was asking him about it. Is that okay with you?”

      “I didn’t mean anything—” She glanced from Avery to her brother, expression wounded. “I just … I’m worried about you, that’s all.”

      “I’m a big girl, Cherry. I don’t need protecting.”

      “I see that.” Color flooded her cheeks. “I won’t make that mistake again. Excuse me.”

      “She was only trying to be your friend,” Matt said softly, tone reproachful. “She cares about you. We all do.”

      Avery swore softly. “I know. I just reacted.”

      Matt laid a hand on her arm. “I understand. Just don’t—” He paused.

      “What?”

      “You’re hurting. I’m sympathetic to that. We all are. But don’t push us away, Avery. We love you.”

      She swallowed hard, eyes burning. He was right. Alienating the people who cared about her would do nothing but leave her more alone than she already was.